WATCHING TV on the In ternet took a huge leap yesterday when NBC and Fox launched their much-ballyhooed video Web site, Hulu.

The site is still in the testing stages – only a handful of potential users were granted passwords – but it has a clean, uncluttered look, is easy to operate and features full episodes of dozens of new and classic shows from Fox and NBC, which are partners in the site.

Hulu was designed by the two media giants if not to kill YouTube, at least to wound the popular, free-for-all video site by keeping their copyrighted material in a part of the Internet under their control.

Unlike YouTube, Hulu does not allow users to post their own videos.

For example, alongside new episodes of “Chuck” and “House,” can be found “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Lost in Space” and digital shorts from “Saturday Night Live.”

Also featured are short clips (a 17-second clip of Homer Simpson screaming 50 different versions of “D’oh!” is a stand-out) and a few full-length movies like “Master and Commander” and “The Jerk.”

The only real downside is that the site will yank its fresh TV content every five weeks.

Critics see that as a telltale sign of broadcast network minds at work as Web surfers don’t take kindly to scheduling things that are supposed to be on-demand.

“For new shows, Hulu seems to feature only five episodes per season – the five latest episodes in the current season,” wrote Salon’s tech blog, Machinist yesterday.

“Presumably this restriction is meant to combat Hulu’s ‘cannibalization’ of the studios’ DVD sales. It’s not a wise move, I say. DVDs, for their quality and portability, offer a better experience than Web streaming, and I find it hard to believe that many people will choose to watch TV shows on Hulu as an alternative to getting a disc.

“The fact that it isn’t available outside of the U.S. is an issue,” says Michael Arrington, the editor of the techie Web site, TechCrunch. “I also don’t understand why they take shows off after five episodes.”

“Overall though,” says Arrington. “I think it’s awesome.”

Hulu is expected to be available to the general public some time in the next few months.